Smart Women, Smart Power – Episode Summary

Episode Title: To Infinity and Beyond: OpenAI to the New Space Race

Podcast: Smart Women, Smart Power (CSIS)
Date: December 19, 2024
Host: Dr. Kathleen McInnes
Co-host: Lauren Badula
Guest: Ashley Pilchin, Applied Scientist, Entrepreneur, Early OpenAI Employee

Episode Overview

This episode features a story-driven conversation with Ashley Pilchin, tracing her journey from scientific curiosity in the Midwest to her roles at OpenAI and in the burgeoning new space race between the US and China. The discussion covers career risk-taking, building intuition, global leadership in AI and space, the importance of mentors, decision-making as a woman in tech, and the responsibilities of power and innovation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Following Curiosity and Nonlinear Career Paths

• Ashley describes her career as shaped by curiosity and systems-thinking, evolving from human biology and neuroscience to climate and energy systems, and eventually AI and space.

“I have never followed a straight and normal path... I’ve always been curious and followed where my curiosity has led me.” (Ashley, 01:25)

• She emphasizes the value of asking big questions: What is the hardest problem I could solve? What is the biggest impact I can make? (04:17)

Timestamps:

• 01:25 – Early career interests in science and medicine
• 04:17 – Systems-thinking, energy, and move towards AI
• 05:42 – Learning to listen to intuition

2. Trusting Your Gut and Defining Success

• Ashley details how learning to trust her intuition was a skill developed over time.

“The times that I decided to not listen to [my gut] ended up being wrong or didn’t go the way that I was hoping.” (Ashley, 06:47)

• Advice for women in difficult or male-dominated fields:
  • Trust your instincts—it’s encoded in us.
  • Create your own “personal board of directors” for decision guidance.

“If you could walk into a boardroom and you can have anyone seated around you, who would you want... and specifically why?” (Ashley, 07:36)

Timestamps:

• 06:47 – The importance of trusting your gut
• 07:36 – The “personal board of directors” exercise

3. AI, Space, and Geopolitical Competition

• The technology race between the US and China in the AI-driven new space age is accelerating.

“As early as 2019... China [was] creating what’s known as Kylin OS or their AI-driven OS... for space operations... I remember being at OpenAI being like—whoa.” (Ashley, 08:47 / 09:14)

• China’s top-down approach to tech development brings advantages and risks, especially in integrating AI and advanced manufacturing into space exploration.
• The US, with a mix of public-private partnerships, faces both opportunity and critical infrastructure risk (especially with reliance on data centers and the grid).

Timestamps:

• 08:47 – China’s initiatives in AI and space
• 10:54 – US vs. China: Public-private partnerships, risks, and infrastructure

4. Policy Advice and the Future of Space

• Ashley advises policymakers to:
  1. Regulate the applications of AI, not AI technology itself, given its varied impacts across sectors.
  2. Invest in space industrialization—including in-space manufacturing and leveraging lunar resources.

“When it comes to AI policy and regulation, regulate the application, not the technology itself.” (Ashley, 12:35)
“Support for in-space manufacturing... we’re not taking advantage of this incredible environment.” (Ashley, 13:05)

Timestamps:

• 12:35 – AI regulation advice for policymakers
• 13:05 – Support for space manufacturing and resource utilization

5. The Moon, Risk, and Opportunity in Space

• The Moon is a focus for renewed research, science, and as a gateway for further space exploration (including Mars). US and China’s presence and competition on the Moon is intensifying.

“We should have a sustained presence on the Moon... there’s incredibly valuable research, science, manufacturing that can be done.” (Ashley, 15:24)

• Space has become much more accessible due to lowered launch costs (notably SpaceX’s launch frequency).

Timestamps:

• 14:19 – Private capital/venture perspective on deep tech and defense tech
• 15:24 – The Moon as a priority for science and industry

6. OpenAI Origin Story and Decision-Making

• Ashley recounts her leap from a PhD program to join the then-unknown nonprofit OpenAI, driven by the company’s ambitious mission and potential for big impact.

“We’re trying to build AGI that benefits all of humanity... it’s bold, ambitious, there’s a positive impact.” (Ashley, 17:45)

• The draw was both the mission and the caliber of team—“I want to apply my skills in any way I can. Let me know, I’ll sweep the floors. Whatever you need.” (18:32)

Timestamps:

• 17:45 – The allure of OpenAI’s mission
• 18:32 – Enthusiasm for joining an ambitious, unknown team

7. Mentors, Lifelong Learning, and Self-Improvement

• Ashley highlights mentorship and continuous learning as keys to growth:

  • “Never lose that thirst for knowledge and asking questions and always be learning. Never stop learning.” (Ashley, 20:33)

• She speculates that access to today’s AI tools would revolutionize how students learn and create.

Timestamps:

• 20:33 – Lifelong learning beyond structured education
• 22:00 – How AI tools are transforming self-education

8. Women, Systems-Thinking, and Decision-Making in STEM

• While Ashley is used to being one of the few women in the room, her decision-making is more about intuition and holistic systems-view than gender—but she recognizes women often bring greater foresight to complex problems.

“Women tend to bring more holistic thinking to the problems that they solve... the ability to identify not just what needs to be accomplished, but what are the second and third order impacts.” (Ashley, 24:35 / 25:34)

Timestamps:

• 23:24 – Reflection on gender’s impact on decision-making
• 25:34 – Holistic, systems-level thinking as a common strength among women

9. Power, Responsibility, and Leadership

• Ashley defines power as “the ability to affect change and drive innovation, particularly innovation that is disruptive or challenges the status quo” and emphasizes responsibility.

“With great power comes great responsibility... that accountability, really holding myself accountable, holding others accountable, that is part and parcel of what it means.” (Ashley, 27:24)

Timestamps:

• 27:24 – Defining power and the essential link with responsibility

Notable Quotes

• On intuition and risk:

  “99% of the time, your gut is going to be right... There’s a reason that we have that gut feeling. It literally is in our DNA.” (Ashley, 06:47)

• On systems and space technology:

  “China in particular has been very smart in terms of integrating these different technologies... their space station is beautiful... being able to run the experiments that they’re looking at, from life sciences to semiconductors.” (Ashley, 09:23)

• On regulation:

  “If you apply the same regulation to just AI models writ large... you can either over regulate, under regulate, depending on that application level.” (Ashley, 13:05)

• On women and foresight:

  “The ability not only to take a holistic approach, but one thing I have found, particularly with working with other women, is the ability to identify not just what needs to be accomplished, but what are second and third order impacts.” (Ashley, 25:34)

Key Takeaways

• Follow curiosity and take calculated career leaps—even if it means leaving a PhD for an unknown nonprofit with a big mission.
• Trust your gut and develop your own metric of success; surround yourself with mentors and your “personal board of directors.”
• The AI and space race between the US and China is rapidly evolving, and success will rely on agility, public-private coordination, and sector-specific regulation.
• Space is the next frontier for industrialization, manufacturing, and security—with enormous opportunity and some risk.
• Mentorship, holistic thinking, and continuous learning form the bedrock of impactful leadership, especially for women breaking into high-tech domains.
• True power is about shaping the future responsibly.